Citation

León C FJ. Rev. Med. Chile 2012; 140(1): 108-112.

Vernacular Title

Después de un terremoto: Bioética en situaciones de catástrofe

Affiliation

Centro de Bioética, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Sociedad Medica De Santiago)

DOI

10.4067/S0034-98872012000100016

PMID

22552564

Abstract

A catastrophe of the magnitude of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Chile not long ago, forces us to raise some questions that we will try to answer from a philosophical, ethical and responsibility viewpoints. An analysis of the basic principles of bioethics is also justified. A natural catastrophe is not, by itself, moral or immoral, fair or unfair. However, its consequences could certainly be regarded as such, depending on whether they could have been prevented or mitigated. We will identify those individuals, who have the ethical responsibility to attend the victims and the ethical principles that must guide the tasks of healthcare and psychological support teams. The minimal indispensable actions to obtain an adequate social and legal protection of vulnerable people, must be defined according to international guidelines. These reflections are intended to improve the responsibility of the State and all the community, to efficiently prevent and repair the material and psychological consequences of such a catastrophe.

Language: es